Carbon dioxide has zero ozone-depleting potential, global warming potential of exactly 1 and extremely small environmental load as well as absence of toxicity, and flammability, safety, low price, and a low critical temperature of 31.1° C. Since in an air conditioning system and a hot-water system, heating can be performed even in a small temperature difference between the refrigerant and the refrigerated fluid due to readily attaining the supercritical point in a high pressure side of the cycling. As a result, in the heating process with large warm-up range as like hot-water supply, carbon dioxide is currently widely used as the refrigerant for a heat pump hot water supply under the naming of “ecocute”, since high coefficient of performance can be obtained; high heating ability in input volume per unit of compressor can be expected; and high thermal conductivity can be obtained.
However, since a working pressure of a carbon dioxide refrigerant is rather high as about 10 MPa compared with other refrigerants and as a result, each and every part of the system device should be assembled by super high pressure specifications, development of an elemental technology of the cycle system with appropriate prices remains a big issue.